how bad is diet pop

cmarie01
cmarie01 Posts: 7 Member
edited September 24 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so I have been trying to drink more water...But I still have diet pop...1 or 2 a day. How bad is it for me? I have heard that even though it has no calories, it actually has a negative affect on weight loss.

Replies

  • CarrieAbbey
    CarrieAbbey Posts: 378 Member
    I heard that too. I know when I drink it I crave salty foods.
  • Leigh_D
    Leigh_D Posts: 356 Member
    My personal, totally biased, non-scientific opinion? Diet soda makes you fat. Drink water & tea.



    EDIT: how about an unbiased answer from a reputable source? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diet-soda/AN01732
  • Nikstergirl
    Nikstergirl Posts: 1,549 Member
    The sweetness in the artificial sweetners actually make you crave sweet foods! Plus, the chemicals in that stuff are horribly bad for you. I used to drink a TON of diet pop every day.. for years, and gave it up nearly two years ago. Now it tastes nasty to me! Best thing I ever did for myself! Also, it can make you retain water.

    My opinion is, if it's once in awhile, then it may be alright,... but if you can live without it you won't be sorry you gave it up!
  • kickboxer74
    kickboxer74 Posts: 31
    I have read that you body does not know how to process the artifical sweetner in diet pop, thus effectting your body chemistry in an adverse way. I am not one to talk though, I have about three diet cokes a day. I am addicted to those things.
  • WildcatMom82
    WildcatMom82 Posts: 564 Member
    I used to drink it and still lost weight fine, but I have heard your body reacts to artificial sweeteners the same way it does sugar. Because of this your body produces insulin the same as it would if you had ingested plain old sugar and it can put you at the same risk for diabetes and metabolic disorder. I used to think artificial sweeteners were great because there were no calories and therefore it was way better for you.
  • Nazbuster
    Nazbuster Posts: 13
    If you drink soda, you MUST read this... http://www.milesresearch.com/main/aspartame.htm
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
    I was a diet coke addict and have missed it since my life style change - until - I found apple cider vinegar - mix a couple tbls with a little water and some sweetener - and I swear it hits the spot!! And it has a lot of health benefits!!! Get the raw apple cider though!!

    I truly didn't think I'd like it until someone posted about it - now I love it!!
  • cleo77
    cleo77 Posts: 93 Member
    i think pop is bad because its all chemical. it cannot be good for your body. maybe try to limit your intake to once a week and drink plenty of water and herbal tea.
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    It is terrible for you....full of chemical that are unhealthy! It also make you crave sugar & salty foods.
    I used to drink it all day everyday....now maybe 1 a week. I still like it....but I know how bad it is for me.
  • lbares
    lbares Posts: 8 Member
    Bottom line is, you cannot fool your body.

    Diet pop my be calorie free, but it is definitely not the same as having a glass of water. There are so many un-natural substances that your body has to work so hard to get rid of...

    You put something sweet in, and your body responds with hormones to store fat, whether the sweet was something with calories in it or not. All the studies I have seen, it did not matter if people drank diet or regular pop, they were still more likely to be overweight, than people who did not drink any pop at all.

    Your body also doesn't recognize the calories in any drinks (except milk). So, if you have a glass of juice (100 calories), you will over-eat 100 calories at some point in the day. Drink water, coffee, tea, milk. Limit juices. Let go of the sodas. They are doing you harm and keeping you from your goals.

    Expect this to be hard for 2-3 weeks, as you develop a new habit and your sense of taste actually will make a change!

    Do this, and many more great wellness habits will follow. You won't miss the pop, eventually, I promise!
  • HannahPastoor
    HannahPastoor Posts: 303
    Studies show that diet pop can cause stroke....You might want to look it up.
  • givprayz
    givprayz Posts: 328
    I don't think it's good to have a steady diet of diet drinks, but I have honestly tried to go to water alone and just can't. I hate tea, and only drink coffee with cream and sweetener. I can get one big cup of flavored green tea in several days a week, and I can take plain water with meals, but I still drink one can of diet Code Red almost every day, and at least 3 cups of flavored water daily. The way I figure it, I have been changing so much over the last 6 months, I can hold on to this one vice a little longer. Maybe after I get to maintenance I will be ready to try to get the artificially sweetened drinks out of my diet, but for now, I am going to drink them and not worry about it. To my knowledge (I'm a nurse) no one has ever died of diet soda drinking.
    And I also want to say that the research on diet drinks and insulin was bogus. The research on diet sweeteners and craving sugar was only barely over statistical significance, and for me, it fills a sweet need. When I drink plain water, I crave something sweet much more. So if you don't find it causes cravings in you, don't worry about that one.
  • jtolbert
    jtolbert Posts: 6
    They contain aspartame. When you have a moment goggle aspartame and read about the effects it has on your body. I try to stay away from everything that has aspartame in it. BECOME A LABEL READER if you are not already. Diet Rite colas are the only diet drinks that I have found with no aspartame.
  • seniorfaye
    seniorfaye Posts: 295 Member
    For years I hardly ever drank a coke of any kind, diet or sugar filled. Sometime last yr I drank a diet sunkist and found I loved it. Now I drink the diet grapico and love it. It has no calories or sodium. I usually drink a cup of it at lunch with my meal. After it's gone I probably won't buy anymore. It's just funny that I went without it for so long and now I find its really bad for you and I've got sorta hooked on it.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
    Zevia makes a diet coke sweetened with stevia. No aspartame. I switched over from diet coke to that, but still try to limit my intake to one per day!!
  • corkienee
    corkienee Posts: 4 Member
    causes osteoporosis and sucks the iron (i believe thats right-anyway, one of those important minerals) right out of ya causing crazy medical problems.... not a good idea to drink them...
  • givprayz
    givprayz Posts: 328
    Read the actual studies, not what some pundit says about the studies. I am NOT saying aspartame is good for you. In super large quantities it is neuro-toxic. But the studies people keep quoting have all been small numbers of people drinking very high quantities of aspartame, or else have not really said what people say they said. For instance, the study that found that people who drink diet pop are more likely to be obese didn't control for anything. Think about it! Who drinks diet pop? People who want to lose weight, who are obese. SO statistically, people who drink diet pop are more likely to be obese. Duh!

    Some people are saying that your body reacts to the taste of an item by storing fat. Not true. Insulin release is controlled almost entirely by blood sugar levels, which zero calorie sweeteners do not raise. Some people have a tendency to crave sweets when using zero-calorie sweeteners, most do not. If you crave sweets, don't use sweeteners.

    Physiologically, Stevia, which is a natural plant extract, is an inert substance in the body. It has not been found to have any negative effects, so I would consider it completely safe. Splenda, which is cane sugar that has been chemically altered to be unusable by the human body, has been found to have odd effects on less than 1% of the population, so if you don't get diarrhea or ringing in your ears or any such thing, then it is also safe for use. Aspartame, a laboratory created sweetener, has been found to have negative effects in children and in large quantities, so use with caution.

    Spreading bad research conclusions is not helpful. Unless you have read the studies and the professional responses to them, be careful of what you say. And don't lump all of the zero-calorie sweeteners together. There is no resemblance between Aspartame and Stevia except that both taste sweet to the human tongue. It's unfortunate that soda makers haven't switched away from Aspartame, but only through pressure from customers are they likely to do that. If you like diet drinks, contact the makers and ask they change sweeteners, and get everyone you know to do it too.
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